Unexpected Love

Amanda Gaither

On one hot, May afternoon in the fast food
restaurant where I worked, a young dark, sweaty man stepped through the
hand-printed glass doors. His dark complexion and blue eyes mesmerized me. I
took his order and tried to sound very intelligent and smooth, but how
intelligent and smooth can you be working as a non-fashionable cashier? I had
on a red polo shirt embedded with grease stains; no matter what I did, they
would not come out. I also wore blue pants, which had bleach stains from
cleaning the grimy bathrooms. In a charming voice, I said, “Welcome to KFC; is
this for here or to go?” In my head, I was saying, “Here, here, here.”

To my surprise he said, “Here.”
The man ordered crispy chicken nuggets, oily green beans, buttery corn on the
cob, and a really, really sweet tea. I fixed his order in a timely manner and
politely placed it in front of him in a somewhat flirty way.

He
returned to the restaurant frequently. I pondered whether he was coming to eat
the tasty chicken or to look at the somewhat oily, bleach-stained cashier.
After about two weeks of eating chicken day after day, I was cleaning the
trash-filled dining room when all of a sudden this chicken-loving man struck up
a conversation with me, the “cashier.” I was in shock, but of course I played
it off. I acted sophisticated and charming. I sat down, and we began to
chat. We chatted about our daily lives and made small talk. This went on for
about a month. Not once did this man ask me out. What was wrong with him? He
did not want to ask a charming, sophisticated grease girl out on a date?

After a month, he quit
coming to eat the juicy chicken. I speculated as to why he quit; was he no
longer interested in the food or the cashier? I gazed out the hand-printed
glass windows and wondered, “Is he coming today, or will he drive past the best
chicken joint in town and eat at the competitors?” For three months, I waited
and watched, but no young, dark, handsome man walked into my workplace.

Four
months after the first encounter with the intriguing man, I was riding in Valdosta when he passed me on the road. We both looked like we had seen ghosts. My heart
raced. This was the first encounter since I had last seen him at my place of
employment. We only passed each other, but it felt like more.

The next day, he rode
through the drive-thru at my work. I was shocked and confused. In my mind,
right then, I decided to finally speak up. Scared and unsure, I told him, “You
should come here more often.”

He
responded with the dumbest question, “WHY?” Why would he ask why? He drove
off, leaving me feeling confused and wondering if he would return.

The next
day, he did not return. Disappointed and sad, I thought, “Well, who needs
him?” Then two days later, he showed up. I was nervous and questioning, “Why
is he here? What does he want?” We talked for a few minutes, and I bravely
repeated that he needed to come more often.

Again, he
asked the dumb, childish question: “WHY?” He then left the store. I was
confused and baffled by this, yet, I felt compelled to do something.

Coming from a rural
area and a small strict family, I never asked guys out and never thought about
it. Now in my less pure mind and body, I pondered whether to call him or just
feel guilty about letting him walk out the door. I picked up the phone and
called my mother, and of course of all people, she could talk some sense into
me. I explained to my mom what happened, and these exact words came out of her
mouth, “Amanda, this is the twentieth century; ask the boy out.” She sure did
not sound like my old traditional mom.

After
much frustration and agony, I looked in the phone book and found his number. I
called, and thank goodness, the answering machine picked up. As my voice
quivered, I left a life-changing message: “Mark, this is Amanda from KFC. I
thought we might go out some time. If you are interested, please call me.”
Impatiently, I waited for the phone to ring.

Finally,
it did ring, and it was him. He said yes, and we went out that night. We then
dated for a month, got engaged, and married within three months. We have now
been married for over five years.

For the
curious reader, he did not ask me out because he prayed to the Lord that if we
were meant to go out, I would ask him out. I never, ever asked a man out until
he rolled into my life.